Book Review: Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.

Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?

And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?

I’ve been hearing about this book for a very long time and finally found it translated in Macedonian. The blurb captivated me and I couldn’t wait to start reading it. And when I started, I couldn’t finish it. I was so into the story that I missed the bus station where I was supposed to get off the bus. So, let me tell you something about this perfect read.

Have you seen a perfect couple? Two people in love that hold their hands? A family that has the perfect house, a wife that cooks the perfect meals? Have you ever wanted to be like them? Or maybe not.

Unfortunately, not everything is like it looks like. Jake and Grace look like a perfect couple. They spend their honeymoon in Thailand, live in a perfect house, host perfect dinner parties. But can anyone see the fear in Grace’s eyes? Grace doesn’t have a cell phone, not even her own e-mail. There are bars on their windows, for protection, Jake says, but for whose protection? Grace cooks perfect meals, but she is so skinny, someone might say she is starving. The truth is, she is starving. Because Grace is a hostage in her own home. From the moment she married Jack, she became his hostage, his personal slave.

Everyone who knows Jack knows him as a good guy. A lawyer who fights for the victims of domestic abuse. A true saviour! A hero of the modern society! A man who adores his wife so much that never ever lets her out of his sight! And he never ever touches her, in any way. There is no violence, no sex, no bruises. Nothing!

How does he control her?

She might escape, you’ll say. Call the police, call her family. Run away! But fear is the most powerful weapon of all, more frightening than any beating. Fear for someone else’s safety.

The story is told from Grace’s point of view. She tells how she meets Jack, how she falls in love with him, how she feels safe and loved with him. And then, her life turns into the worst nightmare.

A shocking story of domestic abuse, a crime that no one can see, no one can prove. Even when the victim starts to talk, she is insane and mentally unstable, because there is no single bruise, no single drop of blood. The accused one is a hero in the society, how can he hurt anyone?

But it is not gold all that glitters.

This is the most captivating story I’ve read recently. The author perfectly describes the crime that often happens behind closed doors. A great start for a debut author. Perfectly portraited characters, vividly described psychological drama. A gripping story that makes you look twice when you see someone holding their hands. An excellent, nail-biting read. Totally recommended!